Privacy Policy

LiveSub (“we”) sets out below how information is handled in LiveSub Web (“the Service”).

1. Audio and subtitles

Speech recognition runs entirely inside your browser. The audio of the tab you share is never sent to our servers under any circumstances.

When you use the free features, the recognised text and its translation are not sent to our servers either. Translation is performed by a feature built into your browser. The only exception is when you press "Report translation" on a line in the subtitle list and choose "Send" on the confirmation screen: the original and the translation of that one line are then sent to our servers (see the next section).

Only when you use the paid feature (Pro) is the recognised text, together with the few preceding sentences, sent through our servers to a translation provider. Audio is still never sent.

Saving a transcript writes a file to your own device when you choose to do so. We do not keep a copy.

If you use the LiveSub Chrome extension, it only creates a temporary identifier that lets the Service's page receive the audio of the tab where you pressed the icon, and passes it to that page. From version 0.2, it also receives the subtitles the Service's page produced and shows them over the video in the tab where you pressed the icon. To place them, it looks only at the position and size of the video in that tab, whether it is playing, and whether the pointer moved over the video. If you move the subtitles, their position is saved in your browser so they appear in the same place next time (it is not sent anywhere). The extension does not collect or store audio, subtitles, browsing history or page content, and sends nothing to us or to anyone else.

If you use the LiveSub add-on for Firefox, it takes the audio of the video playing in a YouTube or Twitch tab and passes it to the Service's page in the same browser. The audio never leaves your device. It receives the subtitles the Service's page produced and shows them over the video in that tab. What it looks at to place the subtitles, and what it saves, are the same as for the Chrome extension. The add-on does not collect or store audio, subtitles, browsing history or page content, and sends nothing to us or to anyone else.

2. What we collect

Usage: only counts, such as how many times the Service was started, for how long, how many subtitles were shown, and which features were used. No recognised or translated text is included. We also count daily visitors by country (as determined by our hosting provider) and by browser type. For the how-to articles, we count which article was opened, where the visit came from (such as search or an AI assistant), and whether subtitles were started from it, as counts only. IP addresses are not stored.

Visitor count: a random value generated by your browser is stored so that we can count daily visitors. It is not linked to your name, email, or any other identifying information.

Translation reports: only when you send one from "Report translation" in the subtitle list, the original and the translation of that one line, the translation direction (for example Japanese to English) and the time we received it. We do not collect the address or title of the video, the surrounding subtitles, your IP address or other device information.

Enquiries: the name, organisation, email address and message you enter in the contact form. If you write to us by email, the sender name and address, the subject and the body of your email (attachments are not stored).

Paid features: identifiers for your customer and subscription records issued by our payment provider. We never receive card numbers or other payment details.

The “Support” payment: payment is made on a page operated by our payment provider (Stripe, Inc.), which collects the email address and payment details you enter there. We never receive your card number. Through Stripe's dashboard we can see the amount and time of the payment, your email address, and the card brand and last four digits. We use these only to confirm payments and to respond to enquiries.

Access records: our hosting provider processes information such as IP addresses to the extent needed to deliver requests. We do not use it to identify individuals.

3. How we use it

Usage information is used to improve the Service and to identify faults. It is not used to identify individuals.

Translation reports are used only to improve translation and speech recognition. They are not shown to anyone other than the operator.

Enquiry details are used only to answer your enquiry and to contact you about it.

Paid-feature information is used to check your subscription status, manage usage limits and handle billing.

4. Sharing and processors

We do not sell or disclose the information we hold to third parties, except where required by law.

We rely on the following providers: Cloudflare, Inc. for hosting and data storage; Hugging Face, Inc. and Mozilla Corporation as the sources of the speech-recognition and translation data; Stripe, Inc. for the “Support” payment and for payments in the paid features; Google LLC for translation in the paid features; and Resend for sending our replies to enquiries. When we reply, the recipient's email address and the content of the reply and the enquiry are sent to Resend.

These providers may be located outside Japan. If you use the paid features, the text sent for translation may be processed outside Japan.

5. Storage in your browser

The Service does not use cookies for advertising or behavioural tracking.

We use Cloudflare Web Analytics, provided by Cloudflare, Inc., to understand page views and page performance. It does not use cookies and does not identify individuals.

Your settings (display language, translation direction, recognition setting, word list, license key, and the random value used for counting visitors) are stored only in your browser. You can clear them from your browser settings.

The speech-recognition data is kept in your browser's storage after the first download. It also stays on your own device.

6. How long we keep it

Enquiries are deleted once they have been dealt with and are no longer needed.

Translation reports are deleted automatically 90 days after we receive them.

Usage figures are kept as daily totals. We do not keep a record of individual actions.

Paid-feature information is deleted after your subscription ends and any period required by law has passed.

7. Access, correction and deletion

If you want to see, correct or delete information about you, please use the contact form. We will respond within reason once we can confirm your identity.

8. Who operates this service

The Service is operated by an individual. The operator's name and address will be disclosed without delay if you request them through the contact form.

The disclosures for the “Support” payment are published on the Commerce Disclosure page. If paid features are launched, their disclosures will be published on the same page.

9. Security

Information we hold is stored with encrypted transport and restricted access. We cannot, however, guarantee complete security for anything transmitted or stored over the internet.

10. Use by minors

If you are a minor, please use the Service with the consent of a parent or guardian.

11. Changes to this policy

We may change this policy when needed. Significant changes will be posted on this page.